


What are you?

by ItsJustMeJamie



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alex finally takes a break, Alex learns how to parent, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ghost!Laurens, He's scared, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm late for Halloween, Imaginary Friends, Other, Poor Pip, Why Did I Write This?, ghost!John
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-28 02:13:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12595856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsJustMeJamie/pseuds/ItsJustMeJamie
Summary: Philip never thought his imaginary friend was weird until he heard other kids describe theirs. None of them had a dark dripping silhouette that lurked along the walls. Years later, his childhood friends have stopped having imaginary company. His was still there.





	What are you?

**Author's Note:**

> Found this prompt on Instagram under the page @writing.prompt.s and decided to make a short story about it.
> 
> Have fun reading!
> 
> As always sorry about any grammar or spelling errors

Ever since the moment Philip had been born, he felt this unexplainable presence around him. It would sooth him when he cried; it would entertain him when he was bored. It was always there.

As he grew older he noticed the figure to be a silhouette of a man that no one but him could see. It was just a little taller than his father, with curly hair – much like his own – in a ponytail. The silhouette was dark dripping with a blooming red flower on its’ abdomen and seemed to be floating just a bit above the floor. The shadow usually didn’t communicate much; it just lurked along the walls and watched over him.   
The little boy wasn’t even sure if the creature was able to speak, the only communication between them having been a mumbled “John” when the shadow introduced itself for the first time. 

Even though the behavior of it often was weird, Philip liked John anyway. He was like an older brother, or an “Imaginary friend” as his mother called him. He knew that his father wasn’t very keen of him having an imaginary friend, but no matter how often the young kid tried to explain that John was real, his parents would just shake it off, saying that every child has had surreal company at least once in their life.

When Philip started school, he became curios of the other kid’s imaginary friends and like his father said, everyone had one. But one thing confused the six year old boy the most. Every child always described their friend as a kid who was their age, with welcoming eyes and a helping hand. They would play hide and seek with them or just share secrets. Philip on the other side barely spoke to John; he was just an always present shadow.  
He began to wonder what John could be, but he never found an answer. 

Years passed and he started high school. He knew that kids in his classes didn’t have imaginary friends anymore; everyone simply had grown out of that – he had to learn that with all kinds of insults that were thrown at him – but John never left his side. Ever since his birth he had a stalker following him, a complete stranger that was invading his privacy and his mind.   
He often tried to somehow get rid of the silhouette. He tried to burn it, to drown it, to leave it but it always came back, the force of John and Philip’s desperation growing with every second. 

One day he came running home from school, his legs moving so fast that he nearly rammed into the door as he arrived at his house. He wanted to escape John, but he knew he couldn’t. The shadow was already positioned leaning against the kitchen counter right next to his father when he entered, leaving him panting in the doorway with tears beginning to stream down his cheeks. 

“Leave me alone.” He yelled, sliding down the wall, his knees pulled to his chest. 

“I don’t want you here anymore! What even are y-you?” His voice broke off during the end as his body erupted with cries.  
Despite his sobs he could hear footsteps coming closer and a hand was laid on his shoulder, gently shaking him. 

“Son, what’s wrong?” He looked up into his father’s worried eyes, his nose was red and his forehead was sweaty from the fever he was trying to recover from – the only reason why he was at home that day. 

“I’m not crazy, I promise.” Alexander shushed him softly, taking the crying child into his embrace. 

“I know shh, I know. Can you please tell me why you’re crying?” Philip wiped his nose on his sleeve and nodded.

“Promise you won’t laugh at me. It’s John. He won’t leave me alone. I swear he’s not an imaginary friend. It’s a silhouette, a stalker that keeps following me.” The boy’s eyes watered again and he was pressed to his father’s chest.

“It’s okay, son. Can you show me where he is right now?” He pointed behind his Dad with a shaking finger. Alexander just nodded.

“Listen, he probably doesn’t want to hurt you, okay? You said you see him since you were born? Maybe he’s just your guardian that was assigned to you at birth. Maybe he is your guardian because the people up there knew you’d need someone because your Pops wouldn’t be a very good role model and father. I promise that I’ll take better care of you now. If something is wrong and you need someone to talk to you know where to find me.” He hugged his son again tightly but froze as he felt a large hand on his back.  
He turned around as fast as possible to see his old friend, his first boyfriend standing in front of him. His hand immediately found its’ way to his mouth and he stammered out a confused “John?”   
He just nodded and hugged his short friend tightly, breaking the contact with a sweet smile moments later. 

“My job here is done.” He clapped his hand on Alex’s back and stared into said man’s confused expression.   
“You were right when you said that I was Philip’s guardian. It was my mission to get you to care for your son again and to take a break from your work. But now it’s my time to return uptown again. It was nice seeing you again Alex; I’ll see you on the other side. Oh, and Philip, you have your freedom from me now. I’m sorry I scared you.” He smiled at the two Hamiltons in front of him and suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke. 

“Wait, you knew John?” Philip took his dad’s hand and pulled his body up from the floor. “Why did you never tell me about him?”  
“It’s a long story that I’ll tell you another time. You’re probably hungry now. Let’s go and make you something to eat.” He grinned at his son and took the small hand to lead him to the kitchen.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated!


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